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Kapera Silliah
District Three Female, 17 Years Old

Down, then up. Down, then up.

That's all I've been doing. Going down one side of the hill, then back up the other, and continuing that for as long as I can. It has to have been more than a day by now, but by now, I'm getting tired of this. Tired of this repetitive motion, not having anything else to occupy myself with.

I always like having a job at hand.

Now, I have nothing to do. All I have to do is watch my back, keep this blow-gun tight to my side, and keep my senses on high alert. I was always used to change, never being able to sit down and have time to myself. In the arena, that all changed, leaving me here just by myself.

I don't like it.

I'm all by myself, with nothing to do. At all. Not even something to read, something to watch… something to steal. That's beside the point, though. Maybe if I had someone here with me things would be different; that I'd actually have someone to preoccupy myself with. I thought about Chet, but he wasn't interested, and everyone else seemed to be taken. And, in retrospect, it's better I kept to myself.

Anyone I had the idea of allying with ended up dead in the Bloodbath.

Not that I would prefer a large alliance, but at least one person would suffice. At least then I would have someone to fill the space with, our mindless chatter distracting me from whatever's going on in the arena. I'm not even sure what's going on lately, since as soon as that gong went off, I got out of there. After I got a gas mask, that is, since once I saw that boy from Six go head-first into it, I knew I couldn't do that.

I knew I couldn't die – that's obvious, but, still. I wouldn't die like that.

At the next downward side of the hill, I stand there, refusing to go down it right now. I mean, before I did see one of those alcove things into the side of the hill, but I couldn't go in. I wanted to, but I heard voices in there… I don't want to come into contact with anyone just yet. Give it another day or two and maybe I will.

That's what the Games are about, after all.

And when I think about it, so was my life back in District Three. I was always in contact with someone else, but the difference was that I was doing jobs for them. They would hire me to steal something, whatever that something was. It could range from money, a photograph, or a ring. It didn't matter to me.

It kept me occupied.

Turning back around, I expect to see something, but there's nothing. It's an extensive arena, and I can't even see that tree that was in the center anymore. The fog laps over the hills, but it's thin enough for me to see through. It got a little lighter out than before, but it's still dark. It's a faint gray-ish light, but I don't think I've seen a moon yet. Maybe it's nothing; it is an arena, and with the technology the Capitol has, they can do anything they want.

I don't blame them.

I would make the arena tricky too. That adds a little more effect.

Sitting down onto the top of the hill, I tighten the small backpack, not wanting it to go anywhere. I slide down the hill, watching the muddy ground splatter onto my black suit, and when I reach the bottom, I just sit there. Sprawling out, I take a nice look at the sky, the never ending grayness making it seem like it's going to rain.

I'd probably prefer the rain.

There's no sound right now, yet at the same time, it's eerie. It's so silent, so empty, that it makes it seem no one's in here with me. But, there many other people in here with me, I just don't know where. And whether or not I want to find out where they are is debatable.

Above, a dark cloud passes, taking it's time as it glides across the sky. It's darker than the actual sky, and as it passes, I find myself getting distracted by it. I watch it drift past me, going back towards where the center of the arena is. Where that tree is, and presumably, where the Careers are.

Bringing my head back, I finally stand up, reluctantly moving on. I slow my steps this time, dragging the blow-dart gun to my side. Is this it? Is this all there will be in this arena?

No tricks? No twists? No jump-scares?

The hill in front of me flattens out into solid land, and at the further end of it, there's another dip. I'm a little more cautious on this patch of land, since at a time like this, they would try to pull something. But, no. I'm better than that. I can usually see things before they happen; it's a trick I've learned from all my years at the job.

Once I reach the end, it goes back to being the normal hills like the rest. But, for some reason, I feel like something's different. I can't put my finger on it, yet I don't care. I won't go down there. I won't.

But, I want to… I really want to.

Going back down this hill, I continue to walk, not looking back. The hills are mushier than the last ones, with more mud beneath the grass. Ignoring how heavy my feet sink down into it, I go up, then down, then up, then down. I never cared if I got my hands dirty with risks. That's what life is about, to me, at least. Always looking forward with no regrets and no reserves.

Besides, how bad could it be?

I'd rather die taking a risk than by the hands of a tribute.

One risk after another.

That'll get you places.

Audric Lavier
District One Male, 18 Years Old

"Audric, get your ass up."

Using the end of my lance, I push myself up, sliding up on the tree. The bark is smooth, not tearing at my suit in the back. I finally stand up, putting my head to the side to avoid one of the branches. Carina's standing in front of me, her hand on her hip, and the other one with a machete.

"You're the only one that will be of some use," she says, making me want to smirk, but I don't let it get to me. Her compliments shouldn't mean anything. "Even if it's not much."

And there the smirk goes. I can't help but get defensive with Carina, since she's always telling us what we can't do, not what we can. She's critical of us all, but she won't judge herself for a moment? Technically, she's not even in charge, Alamar claimed that title. Yet, Carina can't keep her mouth shut.

I try to calm myself down. She's not worth it.

I can't let her get in my way.

"Okay," is all I can say, keeping anything else to myself. It'd be petty to start an argument now, especially when we're in the arena. She'd kill me right away if I opened my mouth. She already threatened Constance before, so I won't risk it.

Carina grabs one of the smaller backpacks, keeping her machete in her hand. She grips it tightly, waving it at me to follow her. I drag the lance along, bringing my own small pouch that I clip onto my belt. Reluctantly, I follow her, not feeling comfortable with this.

There are only two of us. If we were to be ambushed – by muttations or tributes – we'd be outnumbered easily. It'd be better if we had another one come along with us, we'd cover more ground that way. And, if it came down to a fight, we'd be able to take advantage of the fight quickly. Why doesn't she understand this?

She should have thought this through, but of course not. It's Carina we're talking about. Whatever she says goes, and if you speak out against her, she'll shut your mouth for you.

That's what she says she'll do, anyway.

"You're a slow walker," Carina says from up ahead, and as I turn back around, we're too far away from the group for them to hear us talking. "I don't like slow walkers."

With every step, we get further, distancing ourselves from them. She couldn't be luring me out here already, could she? That'd be silly of her. I'm not that stupid to fall for a trick like that.

"Shut up," she snaps, holding out her hand for me stop. I comply, my lance instantly going up in front of me, as does her machete. Apparently, she has heard something, but I haven't. I don't want to think the worst of her but…

And before I can react, a figure darts out from the bottom of the hill. It's a boy, but that's all I can notice before he lands on top of Carina. Her machete manages to scrape his arm, making him groan in pain, the blood squirting onto the ground. Once I see who it is, I see that it's the boy from Nine, Dymas. Carina lets out a scream, and as I take a step back, I try to figure out what can I do.

If I get too close, Carina might hit me or Dymas can attack me. Either way, I'm trapped. Can't Carina handle herself?

Dymas has a knife of his own, the clash of metal making me want to get involved. They're both up now, with Carina now having a small scrape below her left eye. It goes down from her eye to her jaw bone, but it's not too deep I don't think. Carina seems to ignore me, her aggressive side controlling her. She always had a temper.

It all goes too quick for me to catch every move, every lunge that each of them do. Every swipe of their weapon, every groan that comes out of their mouths.

Carina lunges at him, catching him off guard only slightly. She pierces his upper-arm, Dymas letting out another groan, pushing her right back. Her machete comes out as she's pushed back, and as I look at the wound, this one's a lot deeper. It probably went through his whole arm, but before I can assess the wound, Carina goes to strike. She lunges at him again, and swiftly, Dymas sends a punch right into Carina's jaw.

There's a crack, another scream from Carina. I'm surprised the Careers can't hear us from all out here, but it shouldn't matter. Carina should be able to handle herself. At the next move, I'm blindsided because I can't see in front of Carina. Dymas is now in front of Carina, and when I jump to the side, I see what just happened.

Carina's machete in Dymas' stomach.

But, there's more… There's a knife in Carina. It's in her stomach too, and as the two of them stare at each other, I just stand there. I'm frozen, with my legs not wanting to move either. How did that happen? Shouldn't Carina have the upper-hand? She always spoke like she did.

But, I realize I can't judge her now. From what I can see, it's pretty bad. The black of her suit doesn't let me see any more of the blood, but it's all over both of their hands. In unison, they let go, both of them dropping backwards. At Dymas' cannon, I disregard it, not caring about him. That machete went all the way through, so there was no way he would have lived.

Carina… she has a chance. I can help her.

"Carina," I say, rushing over to her, lifting her head up from the ground. The ground beneath me is all moist, most of it being blood. The already gray grass has a darker tint to it, and as I move Carina around, her blood gets on my hands. At the sight of it, I strain my eyes, not wanting to see it. I've never seen blood this close up before.

And the smell… the smell.

"No," she says, her hands shaking uncontrollably. She's having trouble breathing, and as I look back down at where the knife is, it's worse than I thought. It was impaled into her stomach, but Dymas managed to drag it up, right up to her ribcage. Her chest rises and fall in sporadic intervals, and in that instant, I know.

I know that she's dying.

And there's nothing I can do to help her.

"No," she says again, her voice shaking. "You… You stood there…"

I did. I did just stand there, but what else could I do? I couldn't go into the fight, it would have been a distraction and it would have made things worse… I couldn't have gone into the fight.

I might have died instead of her.

"Audric…"

As I look back up to her face, her eyes are shut, her body going limp. It's motionless now, her chest finally seizing rising and falling. There's nothing left of her. Only her body, the knife left in there. And all I did was stand there.

A Career down.

Just like that.

I have to get over it, though. It had to happen. It would have happened eventually, and even though I'm with her right now, I shouldn't feel guilty. It wasn't my fault, it was hers. She should have been paying more attention. She always said she had the skill, so why did she die, then?

She let herself get killed… She did.

It wasn't my fault.

I'm here to worry about myself, not people like her.

I'm here to win.

And I can't let the death of an ally get in the way.

Halley Carradine
District Ten Female, 17 Years Old

It's cold.

It's really, really cold.

That's all I can think about.

This suit that they gave me, even with the gloves, does absolutely nothing. It's thin and doesn't seem to have any insulation to it. Everyone else is cold too, seeing as they're all huddled up in the corner of the tunnel we've been in for the past day. We got in here probably at this time yesterday, and ever since, we've stayed put.

There's no need to go out.

We're too big of a group for that, and besides, I don't want them. It's too dangerous for us to leave… and we can't risk it. I can't lose them yet; I'd rather not to lose them at all, but I'm not that dumb. If Branna taught me anything, it's to be careful with people.

But, I can't help myself.

When I met Damaris, and then Katcia and Silas, I knew good things would come of it. They were friendly, open, and relatable. They were like me, which is something I couldn't find back in District Ten. And whenever I did, it never worked out. People always ended up using me or ditching me after a while.

That's why I like them.

I know they won't leave me.

"This is ridiculous," Silas says, his breath being able to seen from over here. Even though Katcia's flashlight can't do much, it's something, and at least I can see their faces. That makes me feel warmer than it really is. "Why are they doing this? If they want us to die from freezing to death…"

"Don't," Katcia cuts in, turning off her flashlight. "Don't waste the energy. Tomorrow, we'll move. We'll go find somewhere else to hide."

The sternness in her voice isn't something I've heard before. She was always so soft-spoken, never being the one to lead a conversation. It was always Silas or me. Ever since we entered the arena, she's gotten a new edge to her. It fits her, when I think about it. She has the personality, so I don't mind it.

It's what we need. We need us all to become more confident so that it benefits the alliance as a whole.

We just have to work on Silas and Damaris, though. They're still very quiet and soft-spoken. Silas is okay when you get him to open up, but he can switch back really quickly. He's moody like that. But, Damaris… I feel bad for her. She's scared, and yet, I wish I could do something about it.

She deserves better.

"Now what?" I ask, wanting to fill the silence. Talking distracts me from how cold it is pretty well, and I do love talking. I hope they don't mind it.

"What do you mean?" By no surprise, Silas is the one to talk back to me first. Damaris will get involved soon, but Katcia will be the one to tell us to quiet down. I understand where she's coming from, since we might get caught and everything.

"What should we do?" I sit up a little, bringing my hands into my lap and shrug. "I don't know. We slept before and we haven't done anything."

As I look over to Damaris and Katcia, I see that they're already asleep, just leaving me and Silas. It's okay, though, I'll let them sleep. If they want to, I'll let them, but I don't want to. Sleeping was always a waste of time to me; I could spend my day doing more than in my bed.

"We can wait until we found out whose cannons those were," Silas whispers, scooting over towards me. We move over towards the opening of the tunnel, looking out into the arena.

It's still dark, but now, you can't see anything. At least before it was somewhat dark, but now it's all black. The sky is black now, with no moon or anything. I wish there was a moon; the moon in District Ten was always one of my favorite views.

It was really pretty.

I miss that.

"What was your favorite view in District Seven, Silas? I always loved the moon."

"My favorite was," he begins, and even though I can't see his face because of the darkness, I bet he's biting his lip right now like he usually does. He always does that before he thinks. "It was the image of squirrels in the morning. They would sit on the grass, the fresh dew not bothering them. They would just scamper around, scavenging for what they want, it was really nice…"

He trails off, but I want him to keep going. I like when he talks, even if he apologizes after a while. He hates when he babbles, but it's one of my favorite things. I like when people are passionate about their lives and what they like. I don't like boring people at all; there has to be something they care about.

There always is.

"It was just really nice."

"I'm sure it was," I say back, and in the sky, the Capitol emblem appears. The music follows, blasting through the whole arena, making Damaris and Katcia shift in their sleep.

After the Capitol emblem is gone, Silas and I watch the faces. Now, from the light of it in the sky, I can see his face, and he looks intrigued by it. He's staring forward, watching intently, and I can still see his breath from how cold it is. I've seem to stop thinking about it, so that's a good thing. At least I know I can distract myself with Silas.

The first is the boy from District Nine. I don't remember him much, but I'm glad Damaris isn't awake to see it. I don't know if they had any friendship between them, but I think it's better if she doesn't see. Like last night when I saw Peros' face in the sky, I was sad. I really was, but I don't know what for.

Maybe that's what Branna means by me getting attached.

The next face is the girl from District Four. I heard a lot about her and I even saw a lot from her. Back in the Training Center, she was loud and was always talking. For a few minutes in there, I wanted to talk to her, but I knew that I couldn't because she was a Career.

I wasn't supposed to associate myself with Careers.

But, who am I to judge them? They're here for the reasons now, even if they volunteered. They're in here to fight and survive, just like us. They're like all of us, in a way, except that they're good with weapons and are athletic. That's the only difference.

Deep down, I don't think they're bad people.

No one's as bad as they seem.

We all have a good heart somewhere in us.

District Nine, Dymas Corrigan – Placed 17th

District Four, Carina Ellison – Placed 16th

Author's Note:

First thing's first (I'm the realest);

Dymas Corrigan: I never really had anything planned for him (plot, development), so he was bound to die early on. Originally, he was going to fight another Career, but yeah, it turned out be Carina after all. I didn't expect people to really like him, so I did what I could, but I didn't want to drag him out.

Carina Ellison: formless lol

That's Day Two, everyone. Two more deaths, fourteen more to die. Oh, and the poll results are up, so go take a look at that. Those are always fun to see.

Questions!

Is there anyone that has survived that you want to die? Was there anyone that died that you wanted to live?

And a personal question.

What would be your plan for the arena? Hide out? Explore? Fight?